The original video is of Malema addressing Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga.
This video on Facebook and TikTok supposedly of South African politician Julius Malema castigating Kenyan President William Ruto, is ALTERED.
The video depicts Malema making what appears to be a public address. It is accompanied by text reading: “Stop doing what you are doing President Ruto,” “Julius Malema harsh stand on Ruto.”
The video was shared amid the ongoing 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.
In June 2024, a section of Kenyans took to the streets protesting against the 2024 Finance Bill.
But is the video authentic?
Google reverse image search on a keyframe from the video led to a clip published by Kenyan political commentator Gabriel Oguda on X (formerly Twitter) on 31 May 2024. In the clip, Malema is addressing Raila, not Ruto.
Another clip was published by South Africa’s national broadcaster SABC. The broadcaster reports that the video shows Malema addressing the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party’s 10th-anniversary celebrations on 29 July 2023.
“Comrades, we want to make a call in Kenya especially to comrade Raila Odinga. Stop doing what you’re doing. Do not disrupt Kenya, we need peace in Kenya. President William Ruto was democratically elected in Kenya. I will not allow you to use the people of Kenya to destabilise the peace of Kenya,” Malema said in the original video.
In July 2023, Odinga and his Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition held protests across the country over taxation and the high cost of living.
Meanwhile, the EFF on 24 June 2024 supported peaceful protests against the 2024 Finance Bill and urged the government to exercise restraint in dealing with the protesters.
PesaCheck examined a video supposedly of South African politician Julius Malema castigating Kenyan President William Ruto and found it to be ALTERED.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Rodgers Omondi and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
